Nass River Steelhead Life History Characteristics Pertaining to the Nass Habitat Capability Model
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NASS RIVER STEELHEAD LIFE HISTORY CHARACTERISTICS PERTAINING TO THE NASS HABITAT CAPABILITY MODEL C.K. Parken1 British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks Fisheries Branch Skeena Region PO Box 5000 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 Skeena Fisheries Report SK#110 July, 1997 1 Cascadia Natural Resource Consulting, PO Box 4456, Smithers, B.C., V0J 2N0 Nass River steelhead life history characteristics Abstract Information on populations of adult summer (Cranberry River, Damdochax Creek, Kwinageese River, Meziadin River, Nass River fishwheels) and winter (Chambers Creek, Ishkheenickh River, Tseax River) steelhead in the Nass River watershed was gathered from a variety published technical reports and unpublished data from the Skeena Region Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks files (Smithers). The information was pooled among years (1974-1996) and sampling methods (angling, tangle nets fishwheels etc.) to increase sample sizes and improve inferences on the life history characteristics specific to the Nass habitat capability model. Male and female steelhead were generally similar in body size within tributary populations. Among summer steelhead, Damdochax steelhead were similar in body size to Kwinageese and Meziadin steelhead, however Damdochax steelhead were larger than Cranberry steelhead. Winter steelhead populations were similar in body size, and they were generally larger than summer steelhead populations. The mean length of male summer steelhead ranged from 68.3 cm (Cranberry River) to 78.4 cm (Damdochax Creek), whereas the mean length of male winter steelhead ranged from 73.2 cm (Ishkheenickh River) to 79.7 cm (Tseax River). The mean length of female summer steelhead ranged from 68.7 cm (Cranberry River) to 74.5 cm (Damdochax Creek), whereas the mean length of female winter steelhead ranged from 72.8 cm (Tseax River) to 87.0 cm (Chambers Creek). Mean smolt age ranged from 3.00 years (Meziadin River) to 3.74 years (Damdochax Creek) and steelhead were most frequently freshwater age 3 or 4 in the Nass River watershed. Fecundity estimates ranged from 2597 eggs/fish (Cranberry River) to 4264 eggs/fish (Chambers Creek) and were generally higher for winter than summer steelhead, due to the larger body size of winter steelhead. Life history characteristics and provincial biostandards were used to estimate the relative productivity of Nass River steelhead populations. Winter steelhead populations were generally more productive than summer steelhead populations due to larger body size. For winter steelhead, Chambers Creek (Beverton-Holt A = 0.80) was the most productive and Tseax River (A = 0.59) was the least productive. Among summer steelhead, the Meziadin River population was the most productive (A = 0.74) and the Cranberry River population was the least productive (A = 0.35). Life history model estimates (i.e. recruits per spawner, allowable harvest rates, Beverton-Holt’s A value) were lower when calculated with updated biostandards than with biostandards used in the Skeena steelhead carrying capacity model. Monte Carlo simulations indicated the high variability in the updated biostandards increased the probability of populations not meeting sufficient recruitment levels for replacement due to natural (random) variability. The most sensitive life history model parameter was mean smolt age, followed by egg-to-fry ii Nass River steelhead life history characteristics survival, smolt-to-adult survival and female length, when older biostandards were used (from 1992). However, when the variability of the updated biostandards was incorporated, the most sensitive parameter was smolt-to-adult survival, followed by egg-to-fry survival, mean smolt age and female length. Mean smolt age was probably underestimated for Nass River populations because of limitations in scale aging techniques and the short growing season that probably exists for a number of rearing streams in the Nass River watershed. These negative bias errors in mean smolt age result in overestimates of recruits per spawner, allowable harvest rates and Beverton-Holt’s A value. iii Nass River steelhead life history characteristics Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents................................................................................................... iv List of Tables........................................................................................................... v List of Figures.........................................................................................................vii List of Appendices.................................................................................................viii 1.0.0.0 Introduction.................................................................................................1 2.0.0.0 Study Area..................................................................................................2 3.0.0.0 Methods......................................................................................................3 3.1.0.0 Life History Characteristics .....................................................................3 3.2.0.0 Steelhead Productivity and Allowable Harvest Rates .............................4 3.3.0.0 Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis .......................................................6 4.0.0.0 Results .......................................................................................................9 4.1.0.0 Life History Characteristics .....................................................................9 4.1.1.0 Summer Steelhead .............................................................................9 4.1.1.1 Bell-Irving River ...............................................................................9 4.1.1.2 Cranberry River ...............................................................................9 4.1.1.3 Kiteen River ...................................................................................12 4.1.1.4 Damdochax Creek.........................................................................12 4.1.1.5 Kwinageese River..........................................................................14 4.1.1.6 Meziadin River ...............................................................................15 4.1.1.7 Seaskinnish River..........................................................................17 4.1.1.8 Zolzap Creek and Slough ..............................................................17 4.1.1.9 Nass River Fishwheels ..................................................................17 4.1.2.0 Winter Steelhead ..............................................................................21 4.1.2.1 Chambers Creek............................................................................21 4.1.2.2 Ishkheenickh River ........................................................................22 4.1.2.3 Tseax River....................................................................................23 4.1.3.0 Summary of Life History Characteristics ............................................25 4.2.0.0 Steelhead Productivity and Allowable Harvest Rates ...........................26 4.2.1.0 Biostandards Used by Tautz et al. (1992) .........................................26 4.2.2.0 Updated Biostandards.......................................................................27 4.3.0.0 Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis .....................................................28 4.3.1.0 Uncertainty ........................................................................................28 4.3.2.0 Sensitivity ..........................................................................................31 5.0.0.0 Discussion ................................................................................................33 5.1.0.0 Life History Characteristics ...................................................................33 5.2.0.0 Steelhead Productivity and Allowable Harvest Rates ...........................35 5.3.0.0 Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis .....................................................37 6.0.0.0 Recommendations ...................................................................................39 7.0.0.0 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................40 8.0.0.0 Literature Cited.........................................................................................41 iv Nass River steelhead life history characteristics List of Tables Table 1. A summary of the mean, standard error, standard deviation and range in fork lengths for male and female summer steelhead in Cranberry, Damdochax, Kwinageese and Meziadin rivers. ......................................10 Table 2. A summary of the mean, standard error, standard deviation and range in smolt age for steelhead in the Cranberry (Cran.), Damdochax (Damd.), Ishkheenickh (Ishk.), Kwinageese (Kwin.), Meziadin (Mez.) and Tseax rivers.......................................................................................................11 Table 3. A summary of the mean, standard error, standard deviation and range in adult fork lengths by freshwater and ocean age for Cranberry River summer steelhead. .................................................................................12 Table 4. A summary of the mean, standard error, standard deviation and range in adult fork lengths by freshwater and ocean age for Damdochax Creek summer